Maybelline Master Smoky Shadow Pencil Review & Swatches

Maybelline Master Smoky is a new mechanical eye pencil with a smudger tip available in six shades that’s available now at drugstores for the Fall 2013 season.

Smoky, sultry eyes are always a hot trend for Fall and make a reappearance almost every single year. The new Maybelline Master Smoky Mechanical Eye Pencil is a nifty new pencil that allows you to achieve the look effortlessly or at least that’s what Maybelline tells me.

Let’s take a look!

I’ve never actually succeeded at creating a perfect smoked eye look. You know that undone, slightly messy, smoked out effect that’s chic and apparently effortless to create? Yeah, well mostly I look like I slept in my makeup when I try to do it.

Each of these dual sided creamy pencils has a precise, chubbier tip in a swivel up design with a sponge-tip smudger on the opposite end. The pencils have an extra creamy texture that quite reminds me of MAC Greasepaint Sticks but less emollient. They have a fairly easy glide with a soft easy to smudge and blend formula with plenty of play time before they set. I had a problem with the setting time as they take literally ages to dry down and this causes a good deal of creasing, fading, and migration right out of the gate. Of course, you can apply a powder shadow on top so they act as a base of sorts to create your smoky look and in this case they work well. But…if you’re looking for an easy one tricky pony smoky eye look you might find these are challenging to use due to that longer set time. As you apply they don’t set for a few minutes and in that time you’ll notice the creasing action within moments of application and it only gets worst as the day progresses. I imagine on oily lids they’ll be a nightmare. With a little patience they might set well on drier eyes however, using them as an all over shadow, blended out, you’ll find they crease and fade quickly. Lined and smudged out, when set, they seem to wear for a solid eight hours without migrating around or fading it’s just getting them to actually SET that’s the issue!

The best technique to use is to apply a thicker line on both the bottom and top lash line and smudging out and waiting for them to set several minutes before applying any other eye products such as mascara, etc…

These might be a little challenging for many to use as the creaminess of the product makes for a difficult smudging experience sometimes as the product tends to migrate around in many different directions that you don’t want it to go in. Those accustomed to applying quick smoky eyes probably won’t have too many issues. The slower set time though is the killjoy here as they never truly feel like they dry down which indeed causes a few issues with creasing, fading, etc…and even during application I felt I was smearing it away rather than smudging it out.

Scorching Brown

For quickie smoky looks they’ll do the job but you might find them a little iffy to work with. Each pencil is $7.99 and available now at drugstores. If they happen to be on sale you might want to try one out.

Thank you so much for the fast review. It’s such a shame that they are reluctant to set, because the colors are rich and vivid, perfect for fall weather! I’d rather know from a well-written review (yours) than catching my reflection in the mirror on a night out!

I might scoop them up. I have enough powder eyeshadows to slap on top to create smoky eyes for my boyfriend (yep, he just LOVES the smoky eye look ^_^ ). Thanks to the Vice palette, I have a selection to match each pencil. I was initially struggling with the brights and I love me some color! Now I have the perfect means to use them >:D

I have one of these in the violet colour and it is really nice as a thick eyeliner but I can not get the smudgey look very easily. I have tried it with several different brushes and the sponge at the end and it kind of just fades away instead of looking like chic smudgy eyeliner and these products aren’t exactly good as an eyeshadow base either. I enjoy using them as a very think line ontop of the lash line but besides that unless theses are on sale I would pass them up.

I don’t see anything on your lid at all. I have the Violet color and it is quite dark. I love it. I do a very thick line on top and wing it out ever so slightly and just a bit on the bottom outer corner, the smudge a little. It’s fast, easy and lasts all day. I have no issue with setting time. At first use I did apply it all over lid and crease and smudged it. Not really in to that look. I believe that a good smokey eye needs at least 2 eyeshadows in a darker and lighter gradient.